


So Little Time

by Vox (Meislovely)



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Blood, Car Accidents, EMT Jasper, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Jasper's gonna lose her medical license, Lapis tries to start a threesome, Peridot has the best new year, and it's somehow still kinda sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-01
Updated: 2017-01-15
Packaged: 2018-08-28 09:21:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8440129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meislovely/pseuds/Vox
Summary: She pulled Lapis’ hand down to tangle it with one of Peridot’s, holding both girl’s hands with one of hers. “Lapis and I are going to be right here with you the whole time.”Lapis nodded erratically, giving Peridot’s hand a soft squeeze and leaning forward to plant a gentle kiss on the small woman’s cheek.  “W-We’re not going anywhere.”“You’re not alone, Peridot.”Peridot nodded, muscles relaxing as she looked back and forth between them. A watery smile pulled at her lips. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”





	1. Chapter 1

Jasper was jostled in her seat once more as the ambulance hit another bump. They’d been driving for quite some time and she was starting to wonder exactly where they were going. The roads were rocky enough that she had bashed her head on the roof a couple of times already, but she couldn’t see much from the back.

EMT’s everywhere were scrambling madly to get to the accidents and emergencies all over the city. They were incredibly understaffed for New Year’s Eve. Jasper (and Garnet, her partner) had already responded to three emergencies. She loved Beach City, but it’s citizens could be _stupid_ during the holidays. If she was lucky, this would be the last call of the night and she could go home and get some sleep for once.

The ambulance screeched to a halt, almost throwing her from her seat again. Jasper grumbled as she got up. You’d think that ambulances, of all things, would have seatbelts. Pushing her annoyance aside, she opened the doors.

Jasper had expected it to be dark, but not _this_ dark. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the low light, but once they did, her mouth drew into a tight frown. The lone streetlight cast a dull orange glow over the mountain road, but didn’t do much for visibility. One side of the road was lined with crowded pine trees, while the other had nothing but a metal railing to stop anyone from hurtling down the side of the mountain. No wonder it had taken so long to get here.

Her stoic coworker got out of the driver’s seat and made her way back as Jasper picked up her gear and surveyed the scene. Two cars were skewed across the road with bits of metal and glass littered around them like confetti. One looked a little worse for wear, but still resembled a car. The other was completely totalled. Pieces of it had been sheared off and Jasper could hardly tell where it began, and the railing it had rammed into ended.

“Check that one.” Garnet spoke up calmly, following her gaze. “I’ll take the other.”

With a sharp nod, Jasper started over at a jog.

As she drew close, a heavy feeling settled in her stomach. The first thing that stood out was the shock of bright blonde hair, specked with blood and dirt. Her neon green shirt was in complete disarray and dull eyes, just a shade darker, stared at the horizon from behind a pair of large glasses.

She steeled herself. She’d been working as an EMT for a few years now, but death still tore at her heart a lot more than it should have. Jasper raised a gloved hand to make sure there was no pulse, but the eyes flicked towards the movement. She jumped slightly, but pressed her finger against her neck, eyes wide.

“Hi.” The woman breathed, blinking slowly.

Jasper held back a sigh of relief. “Hey there. How are you feeling?”

The girl let out a weak laugh. “I feel like shit.”

“Can you move anything?”

She raised her shaky arms for a moment, giving Jasper an apologetic look. “The rest is stuck.”

Jasper looked down, stifling a gasp at the sight. Everything below her the denim of her shorts was a mess of blood and metal. She calmed her nerves, giving the girl a soft smile. “That’s alright, you don’t have to try moving anything else. What’s your name?”

“P-Peridot Diamond.”

“My name is Jasper. I’m gonna open this door, okay?”

“O-Okay.”

Jasper nodded and began to ease the door open. A couple drops of blood spattered on the pavement, but it was a lot less than what she expected. When she got a good look, she saw that the woman’s legs were pinned in place. Bits of plastic and metal from the car punctured the pale flesh in a dozen different places, some too close to the arteries for comfort, and were imbedded in the floor and seat. The only good thing was that the wreckage lodged in there seemed to prevent most of the bleeding.

“O-Oh gosh, that’s a lot of blood.” Peridot said, her face starting to turn the same color as her eyes.

“Look at me, Peri.” Jasper said. The girl tore her eyes away from the mess, setting them on her. “It’s honestly a lot better than it seems. I need to go speak with my partner, okay?”

Panic flashed across her face and a quick hand shot out to hold onto Jasper’s arm. “P-Please don’t leave!” She whimpered quickly, “I don’t w-want to die alone! I’ve spent my whole life alone! _Please!_ ”

She set a gentle hand on the girl’s shoulder, bending down to eye level. “Listen to me, Peri. You’re not dying today, okay?”

“B-But-”

“No buts. It’s not happening. You’re gonna be alright. Say it.”

“I’m… I’m gonna be alright.” She murmured, closing her eyes tightly.

Jasper smiled. “There you go. I just need to talk to her for a little bit so we can get some help getting you out of there. Then I’ll be right back, alright?”

She nodded quickly, hesitantly pulling her hand back. With one more reassuring smile, Jasper turned and jogged to her partner.

“Garnet, we have a problem.”

The dark woman looked up at her from her spot in front of the other driver, one thin eyebrow raised.

“She’s in real bad shape, but it’s not gonna be easy getting her out. She’s stuck in there.”

Garnet gave her a sharp nod. She always was better at keeping her emotions in check. “I’ll go call for backup.”

As she left, Jasper turned back towards Peri but thin fingers on her arm stopped her. She looked back at the other driver, taking in the bright blue hair, matching sundress, and watery grey eyes. Cuts and scratches littered one side of her face, oozing small drops of blood. The most notable, however, was a long stripe of red painted from hairline to chin. At least she looked stable and alert.

“Is she going to be okay?” She asked quietly.

“...She’s going to make it.”

“You hesitated.”

“Just stay right here. Garnet will take care of you when she’s done.” She muttered quickly, turning on her heel to escape the uncomfortable questions. She couldn’t be sure that Peridot was going to be okay, yet.

“Hey there, Peri. Help’s on the way.”

Green eyes lit up as she entered their field of vision. “You came back.”

“I told you I would.” Jasper chuckled. She kneeled down again, looking her over. Even more color had drained from Peridot’s face and her lips had taken on a touch of blue. Her breath came in shallow, stuttering wheezes. “I’m gonna check you for any other injuries.”

She nodded slowly and Jasper felt her neck and shoulders, careful not to move her too much. When she got down to her ribs, the girl whimpered and finched. “I’m sorry, I know this hurts but I have to make sure you didn’t puncture your lungs.”

She bit her lip, but let the EMT continue her prodding.

“Can you take a deep breath for me?”

She started, but let it out as a pained groan. “Hurts…”

“I know Peri, but you’re not getting enough oxygen.” She murmured. Peridot seemed to relax a bit more at the sound of her name and took a slow, deep breath. Her face turned into a grimace, but Jasper was quick to reassure her. “That’s it, just like that Peri. You’re doing great.”

She asked the girl a couple of other routine questions, finding out that she was 23 and relatively healthy, until footsteps crunching on broken glass had her looking away to find Garnet holding out a mask and tank of oxygen. Jasper narrowed her eyes, but took it gladly. Woman was a damn mind reader.

“Everyone is busy.”

Jasper bristled. “What the hell do you mean they’re busy? She needs to be out of here _now_!”

“There’ve been calls over the city. Some don’t even have an ambulance there yet.” She adjusted her shades, folding her arms. “We’re gonna be on our own for a while.”

Jasper clenched her teeth, holding back a growl. She didn’t know how much longer Peridot could go without a doctor. Jasper was trained to give medical attention, but there were bound to be a whole heap of problems that she couldn’t treat.

Finally, she let a breath hiss out between her teeth, forcing herself to relax and gently fit the mask to Peridot’s face, checking to make sure it was secure. “What are we going to do?”

“The best we can. We’ll stay here until I can contact someone to help us out. We need to keep her stable until then.”

Jasper nodded slowly, but it didn’t stop the rapid beating in her chest. “How is the other one doing?”

“Most of her wounds are superficial, but she may have a concussion and a fracture somewhere in her leg.”

“Do you want to take her in while I stay here with Peri?”

Garnet rose an eyebrow at the name, but her tone stayed even. “Are you going to be alright here yourself?”

“Yeah. Just leave me some extra gear in case of emergency.”

The quiet woman gave her a nod, starting towards the blue haired woman before stopping dead in her tracks. “...My mum is a firefighter. She may have some Jaws Of Life in her garage. I’ll pick them up on the way back and we’ll see what we can do.” She said, continuing on her path.

As Jasper let out a sigh of relief, Peridot spoke up again. “How bad is it?”

Jasper paled, eyes darting up to meet hers. “Um…”

“Be honest with me. I’m a scientist. I won’t freak out.”

Jasper paused for a moment, “You’ve lost quite a bit of blood and some of your ribs are broken. We can’t get you out of the car without some machinery and, even then, it’d be ideal to have a surgeon with us.”

“Oh my stars, I’m going to _die_ here!” She screeched, her breath becoming rapid and fogging up the mask. The pain from her ribs only spurred her further into panic.

A commotion started up behind her, but Jasper ignored it in favor of grasping one of the girls flailing hands. “Hey, hey! What happened to not freaking out!? I thought you were a scientist!”

“I study robotics, not medicine!” She gasped, eyes wide.

“Remember what I told you? You’re going to be alright. Say it with me.”

“I’m going to be a-alright.” She muttered rapidly, repeating it over and over until the shaking began to recede. “I’m going to be alright.”

“There you go.” Jasper murmured, running a gloved hand through the wild blonde hair. “I’ll stay right here with you, so don’t worry. We’ll get you out of here, we just need to be patient.”

Though her shaking had stopped, the small woman didn’t look any more optimistic. “Y-You’ll tell me if I’m dying, right? You won’t lie to me?”

Jasper really didn’t think it would help, but nodded anyways. “I won’t lie.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

Peridot let out a long breath, head lolling back against the seat. She was silent for a moment before her eyes found Jasper again. “Is the other driver…?”

“Alive?” Said an airy voice. The slender woman with blue hair sat down in what was left of the passenger seat with a pained grunt. A bit of the blood had been wiped off her face and she looked at them with a half-assed smile that didn’t really reach her eyes. “Yup. Still here.”

“What are you doing here? I thought Garnet-”

A thud had her glancing behind her. The bag of extra supplies laid at Garnet’s feet. “She exercised her right to refuse medical treatment.” She said, setting up an IV stand.

Jasper looked back at the woman. Had she lost her damn mind? She was in a car accident!

“I’ll be back with the jaws as soon as I can.” She said, turning on her heel and jogging to the ambulance.

“Why would you refuse treatment?” Peridot asked, eyebrows scrunched together. Jasper got out an alcohol wipe and swiped it over her wrist, inserting the IV while she wasn’t looking to avoid another freak out.

Lapis shrugged. “Don’t need it. I’ve had worse.”

“I don’t think I have.” She said, trying a smile with her thin lips.

The other woman looked down, flinched, and looked back up to Peri’s eyes with an obviously forced smile. “I don’t think so either. What’s your name, stranger?”

“Peridot.”

“I’m Lapis Lazuli, but I’d like it if you called me ‘lover’.” She even added a wink.

Peridot groaned and Jasper couldn’t hold back a snort. “We were just in a car accident and you’re flirting?”

“Badly, too.” Jasper added.

Lapis shot Peri a grin, before her eyes wandered over to Jasper. “Is your name homework?”

“Oh go-”

“Because I’m not doing you, but I should be.” She drawled with another obvious wink. She threw in some finger guns too.

Jasper rolled her eyes, but let out a small laugh when Peridot groaned even louder despite the small smirk on her face. “It’s Jasper.”

Finally, a genuine smile split Lapis’ face. It only barely touched her tired eyes, but it was a lot better than before. “Glad to see you both smiling. You guys looked like a bunch of sad sacks.”

“Being mortally wounded will do that to you.” Peri muttered.

“You’re not mortally wounded. Just… stuck.” Jasper huffed, though she was glad the small woman wasn’t losing her shit over it anymore.

“Not for long!” Lapis said, trying to recline the seat a little. She had no luck. “They’ll have someone to crack you out of here soon, right?”

Green eyes fell, “Jasper said it’ll be a while.”

At the curious look, Jasper explained their situation, watching as Lapis’ face fell further and further.

The woman looked thoughtful for a moment, before another half-smile spread across her face.“Hey, at least I get a little more time to learn about the two cutest girls I’ve ever seen.”

“I’m not cute, I’m sexy!” Peri said, motioning to herself. “I know you can’t tell right now, but I have the best ass in Beach City.”

Jasper couldn’t tell if this was her or the euphoria that came with oxygen deprivation speaking, but she gave a chuckle all the same.

“Oh really?” Lapis giggled. She looked back at Jasper, “And what’s your claim to fame?”

This was not professional behaviour in the least. She really shouldn’t be humoring them, but Jasper was never one to pass up a chance to show off a little. Modest was never a word used to describe her.

Jasper pulled the hem of her shirt above her stomach, flexing her abs.

“Holy shit, dude.” Lapis murmured

Peridot’s mask (and glasses, to Jasper’s delight) fogged up. “Can I touch them?” She asked, voice almost lost in the hissing of her mask.

“If you can handle it.” She said, giving a salacious wink that would make Lapis proud if her eyes weren’t pinned to her stomach.

The small hand reached out hesitantly, taking ages before it finally made contact with skin. “Oh my stars, you’re chiseled out of fucking _stone_.”

“Me too!?” Lapis gasped, looking up at her with stars in her eyes.

“Sure.” Yep. Definitely not professional.

When they were done rubbing her stomach like she was a new puppy, they started talking. Well, mostly Lapis, but she got Peridot and Jasper to join in every once in awhile. Both of them were still in college, and on the same campus at that. Lapis for art and Peri for robotics. Peridot lived alone, while Lapis lived with three other roommates.

The blue haired woman went on and on about her roommate’s godson, telling them how adorable he was, how many instruments he could play, her brief plans to kidnap him, and the time she almost drowned him and his friend on accident. Jasper was sure that she didn’t mean to let the last few slip, but didn’t bring it up.

Jasper was hesitant to tell them about her personal life, but two different sets of puppy dog eyes was all the convincing she needed. She glossed over her home life very briefly, she didn’t want to depress them with her nearly empty apartment and a life sustained off of protein shakes and multivitamins (she didn’t even have New Year’s plans), but went into great detail about the prize fights she participated in whenever she wasn’t on call.

When prodded, they drew the same reaction out of Peridot. The girl had so many projects (most of which she couldn’t even begin to understand), that Jasper wondered how she even had time to be obsessed with a TV show and two different video-games. She made her way through scholarships and building computers for people. Though, her first time building one didn’t sound so successful...

“-And when I turned it on, it electrocuted me! My hair was sticking up all over the place, but I kinda liked it. So I’ve been styling like this ever since.” She said, gesturing to the messy blonde spikes on her head.

Before Jasper could comment, a far away explosion snapped all three of their eyes to the horizon. Gouts of sparks and multicolored light came from all over the city. A quick check of her wrist watch showed that it was, in fact, midnight. The start of the new year.

“They’ve really outdone themselves with the fireworks this year.” Lapis murmured.

Jasper bit her lip in worry. If a fire sprung up, that would mean even more time with Peri stuck here.

Lapis heaved a great sigh, gazing into the distance with mock despair, “I guess that means no New Years kiss for me.”

“That’s really what you’re concerned about?” Jasper asked, lips turned up at the sides.

“Of course!” She gasped. “It’s good luck to start the new year with a little peck... Or more, if you’re lucky.”

This girl had some interesting priorities...

“What’s it like?” Peridot whispered, cutting off her line of thought.

Lapis cocked her head,“What do you mean?”

Peridot’s cheeks flushed slightly, “K-Kissing, I mean. I’ve never done it before. I’ve always just been… too busy I guess.”

“Aw, Peri! That’s so cute!” Lapis squealed, much to Peridot’s embarrassment. Then, after a pause, her voice lowered and a smirk pulled at her lips, “I could help you with that, you know.”

Peridot let out something between a shriek and a squeak and Jasper’s hand flew to her shoulder, trying to make sure she didn’t move too much.

“ _What_!?” She stage whispered, looking around as if someone would punish her for such an indecent thought.

“You’ve never kissed anyone, right? I wouldn’t mind giving you a smooch.”

Peridot’s mouth opened and closed a couple of times, before settling in a tight frown. “I know you mean well Lazuli, but I really don’t want your pity. Just because I’m a nerd that’s never been kissed, or I might be dying-”

“You’re not dying.” Jasper interrupted, but fell silent at Peri’s glare.

“-Doesn’t mean you should feel sorry for me, okay?”

Lapis’ smirk never faltered, but she did fold her arms. “What if I want to do it because you’re cute? Or because you’re super smart and passionate? Or because your laugh makes my cheeks hurt from smiling?”

Peridot’s cheeks lit up brighter than the fireworks.

In that moment, Jasper accepted the undeniable fact that Lapis Lazuli was the smoothest motherfucker on the face of the planet. Though, her words were true. The little spitfire of a woman talked about her passions with stars in her eyes and fire in her heart. Jasper was lost through all of the explanations, but she didn’t doubt that she’d be great as a scientist.

But the same could be said for Lapis. Despite the fact that she had planned to kidnap a child (she assured them that it was a short lived dream) and almost drowned said child (on accident!), she radiated calm like waves in the ocean. The bags under her eyes spoke of someone with a lot of history, but the easy way she spoke let it be known that it didn’t define her. It helped that she was a shameless flirt.

“O-Okay.” Peridot said softly, yanking Jasper out of her thoughts.

Lapis’ smirk turned to a full blown grin, showing a row of pearly white teeth. “Yeah?”

“Yeah!”

Lapis reached towards the mask, hands hesitating as she looked at Jasper. “Is it okay to take this off?”

Jasper gave a nod, watching as the mask was gently removed. Peridot had gained some of her color back and she didn’t seem to have too much trouble breathing. Lapis’ hand rested on the glasses, taking them off too, after a short nod from Peri and handing them to Jasper.

Jasper’s heart nearly lunged out of her chest at the sight of Peridot’s eyes. They were an impossible shade of baby blue, her pupils ringed with flecks of gold. She glanced down at the smudged, dirty, _green tinted_ glasses and gulped.

“Wow.” Lapis breathed, moving a bit closer. “I guess that’s another thing to add to the list of great traits. Why in the world are your glasses _green_?”

“I-It lessens the strain on your eyes when you’re staring at a screen all day.” She murmured, equally breathless. Her eyes squinted. “I didn’t know your hair was _blue_!”

Jasper found herself giggling ( _giggling_ of all things) at the awed expressions. Soon enough, the breathless giggling had spread to all three of them. Lapis snorted a lot and Peridot sounded like a supervillain, but she couldn’t find fault in the sounds.

When the giggling came to a close, the blue haired woman darted forward, surprising both of them, and captured Peri’s lips in a heated kiss.

Jasper’s eyes widened before she averted them quickly. A strange feeling knotted in the pit of her stomach and she busied her hands with turning off the oxygen tank and cleaning the glasses in an effort to ignore the wet noises.

“W-Wow, thanks.” Peridot mumbled. Jasper wondered if it was healthy to have _that much_ blood rush to her face.

“I should be thanking you. You sure that was your first time?”

“Y-Yeah.” Those bright blue eyes flicked over to Jasper and the taller woman looked back down.

“Hey.” Long thin fingers pressed beneath her chin and she found herself staring into Lapis’ eyes. She still held onto the cool, seductive smirk, but it had softened considerably. “You look a little left out. You want one too, Tiger?”

Definitely the smoothest motherfucker.

Jasper drew in a sharp breath, but gave a small nod. Lapis’ smirk grew before she leaned haphazardly over Peridot and her slightly chapped lips were pressed to Jasper’s. A small part of her brain screamed that this was against every medical law ever made, but it was quickly shoved down by the fingers threading through her hair and the slight taste of bitter coffee on Lapis’ lips.

When she pulled back, her face burned all the way up to her ears, made worse by Lapis’ eyebrows dancing across her forehead.

“I couldn’t see that very well, but it sounded great.” Said Peri, her voice muffled by Lapis’ chest.

Lapis lurched back, stifling a snort. “Sorry about that Peri.

“It’s okay,” She said, squinting again, “It was pretty comfortable.”

For once, Lapis was the one with a spattering of pink on her cheeks. Jasper let out a slow breath, hoping to calm her heart down a bit. It seemed fate had other plans.

“C-Can I kiss you too?” Peridot asked, squinting in Jasper’s direction. Despite her nervous smile, her face was set with determination and excitement.

She’d already come this far, hadn’t she?

“I am _so_ losing my medical licence.” She grunted, ignoring the screaming voice in her head once more to lay a hand on Peri’s shoulder and press their lips together. It wasn’t nearly as smooth as her kiss with Lapis, but what Peridot lacked in experience, she made up for in enthusiasm.

Jasper pulled back, a low noise escaping her throat when she felt a hint of teeth at her lips.

Lapis let out a hoot, “Now _that_ was hot!”

“Are you trying to start a threesome!?” Jasper asked incredulously, “Here!? _Now_!?”

“A little bit, yeah.” She giggled.

“This is the best New Year's I’ve ever had.” Peri murmured, a goofy grin plastered across her face.

“Oh, you flatter me!” Lapis said dramatically, placing a hand over her heart. Jasper chose not to point out her bright red cheeks. “I’m sure there’ve been better. Where were you going anyhow?”

“I was going to my mother’s hou- Oh _SHIT_!” She screeched suddenly, fumbling for her back pocket. Lapis and Jasper nearly jumped out of their skins at the outburst.

“Hey, hey, careful!” Jasper spoke up, pressing Peri’s shoulder back to the seat. “You don’t want to cause anymore damage!”

“I’m going to be _murdered_ if I don’t call her!” She wailed.

“Okay, but I need you to stay still!”

She shot a glance at Lapis’ suddenly pale face before digging a hand into her own pocket and handing her phone to Peridot.

The girl let out an explosive breath, grimacing at the pain in her ribs, before putting in a number with shaky hands.

“Mother? Yes, hello.” She paused, “Yeah, I know I’m late. I was in an accident. No, I’m still in the car. No, I’m not at a party, mother.”

Jasper sat down, leaning back against the car as Peridot tried to explain that she was stuck in a car. Her heart really couldn’t take the repeated shock. She vaguely hoped Lapis was doing alright. It could’ve just been the nerves making her pale, but Jasper really didn’t want to have to keep two people alive with no help.

“Yeah, the car’s… the car’s not in very good shape. I haven’t had anything to drink.” She huffed, her voice slightly slurred.

Something dripped on the back of Jasper’s gloved hand and she looked up at the sky, ready to curse the heavens if it started raining. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Jasper raised her hand to look at it.

A fat drop of blood began to run along her wrist at the movement. When she looked back to where her hand was, a small puddle of red was slowly growing, fed by the drops leaking out of the car.

Jasper peered in at Peridot’s legs, feeling the color leave her face. They had shifted. They had shifted and the pieces of metal that had been next to her arteries were now _in_ her arteries. Both of them.

“Peri, I need you to hang up the phone.” She said, softly but firmly. She rummaged around in her bag with no luck. It seemed that Garnet’s sixth sense didn’t apply to packing.

“No, that was the EMT, I have to go Mother. I-I love-” She pulled the phone away from her ear, frowning.

Jasper pulled the phone from her fingers gently, letting it drop to the ground before she started feeling for her pulse. It was faint and a bit too rapid for Jasper’s liking. All the color Peridot had gained back was gone.

“Peri, you’re losing a lot of blood-” Her eyes widened, a panicked whimper escaping her lips. “But I need you to stay calm, can you do that for me?”

Peridot swallowed hard, but nodded.

Jasper pulled out one of the large bandages, ripping a couple of thick strips off. She looked back into the car, eyes landing on Lapis. The woman stared at the blood pooling under Peridot’s legs, eyes wide and mouth hanging open slightly.

“Lapis. Lapis!” Jasper growled, getting her attention.

She looked up, breath rapid and shaky. “Y-Yes?”

“Do you know what a tourniquet is?”

“Um, y-yeah. Yes.”

Jasper handed her a strip of cloth. It was rough, but it would work for a while. “I need you to put one on that leg, I won’t be able to reach it.”

Lapis took a deep breath, but it didn’t seem to do her any good. “Yeah, okay. How?”

“Watch me.” Jasper passed one end of the cloth between Peridot’s knees. Quickly, she tied a knot and looked around wildly, seeing a few rods of bent metal. She passed one through the loop in the cloth and began to turn.

“Owowowow!” Peri whimpered rapidly, hands darting down in an effort to push Jasper’s away.

“I know, Peri, but you’re losing a lot of blood. This is the only way to stop the bleeding enough.”

Peridot bit her lip hard, but stopped trying to push the woman.

“Okay, Lapis, did you see what I did?”

“I-I don’t know. It was so fast!”

“It’s okay, I’ll talk you through it, alright?”

Lapis nodded quickly, hair flopping into her eyes a bit.

“Okay, do you see the place where all the blood is coming from?”

Lapis gasped when she saw it, yanking her hands back as though they had been burned. “I-I don’t think I can do this.” She whimpered, closing her eyes tight as her breath came out in harsh gasps.

“Listen to me,” She rasped, catching the girl’s eyes as they opened. “We need to do this to keep her alive. I know you’re scared, Lapis, but she _needs_ this. Do it for Peri, okay?”

She made a strained noise, teeth clenched, but nodded.

“Find where the blood is coming from and loop the cloth around a couple inches above it.” Lapis did so with shaking hands. “Good, now tie it off and take this,” She handed over another rod, this one slightly thicker, “and twist it a couple of times to tighten it.”

When it was finally secured, Lapis brought her hands up to cover her face as she tried to regulate her breathing. Jasper didn’t have the heart to tell her about the blood she just smeared on herself. “That was great, you did great.”

She looked up at the praise, eyes bloodshot. Jasper tried to give her a reassuring smile, but the girl’s eyes widened, all pretense of calm flying out the window. “J-Jasper! She’s not breathing! She’s not fucking _breathing_!”

Jasper let out a loud string of curses as she looked at Peridot, but they died down to a growl as she pressed her hands over the girl’s chest and started compressions.

“I’m so sorry Peri!” Lapis sobbed, bloody hands touching Peridot’s face, “I-I was driving too fast, I should’ve been more careful, I-I should’ve-”

“Lapis! This isn’t helping!” Jasper growled, leaning forward to breath air into Peri’s lungs. She drew back, starting compressions again.

Lapis retreated to the far end of the passenger seat, burying her face in her arms. Jasper felt a pang of guilt, but pushed it away for the time being. She needed Peridot to _breathe_.

And she did. Air filled her lungs in a wheezing gasp, her eyes snapping wide open as a sobbing cough followed. Her hands flew up to feel her chest, but they flinched away immediately. When the coughing stopped, Peridot let out a pained groan.

Jasper gave a groan of her own, slipping the mask back over her mouth and sitting down with a hard ‘thud’. She watched Lapis fuss over her hysterically and pressed a hand to her chest. These women were going to be the fucking death of her.

“What the fuck just happened?” Peridot murmured, squinting suspiciously. At least, Jasper thought it was out of suspicion until she remembered that she couldn’t see shit without her glasses.

She put the green tinted glasses back on her face, silently lamenting the loss of those soft blue eyes, before speaking. “You died for a little bit.”

“I what!?” She screeched weakly.

“Well, you’re alive now, so don’t sweat it. But you could give a little more warning. I can’t tell you if you surprise me too.”

Both Lapis and Peridot looked at her like she had lost her mind. She gave them a shrug. Jasper may have been a hypocrite for telling them to calm down when she was a mess inside, but it was better to have them calm then have everyone freak out. Where the hell was Garnet? She checked her watch again, growling. She’d been gone for almost two hours!

Peri muttered under her breath, but seemed a bit more calm. Lapis still looked like a personified trainwreck, but Jasper doubted she was any better. Her eyes burned something fierce and she was pretty sure she had blood in her hair. Yuck.

There was no conversation as they settled down this time. Only a calm silence that Jasper was too tired to break. As time passed they eventually ended up huddled around Peridot, as if they could protect her from any other cruel twists of fate.

“She hung up.” Peridot murmured after a while, voice almost lost under the hissing of the mask.

Jasper looked up questioningly.

“My Mom. She hung up. She didn’t even say she loved me, she was so focused on me ruining her stupid party. She didn’t even care.” Her voice grew thick, despite her indignant tone. Tears shone at the corners of her eyes.

Lapis shot Jasper a look, as if asking her what she should say. Jasper wasn’t sure either, but she fumbled her way through the best she could, “Well… That’s her own damn fault. If she doesn’t want to recognize how great her kid is, fuck her.”

“You don’t need her anyways.” Lapis spoke up, “She sounded pretty lame to me. I bet it was a shit party.”

“Y-Yeah, you’re right.” Peri slipped her fingers under her glasses for a moment before giving them a wide smile. “I’m really glad you guys are here. Thank you.”

Jasper felt her heart melt right out of her chest, her cheeks heating until it was almost unbearable. “I-I’m glad to be here.” She said, voice breaking halfway through.

“Me too.” Lapis announce, a ghost of her old smile coming back.

Peridot beamed at them a moment longer before she let her head fall back against the seat, letting out a tired sigh and gazing up at the stars. When she spoke again, an edge of fear had crept into her voice. “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

That set off alarms in Jasper’s head and she tensed. That was bad. That was really, unbelievably bad. “Let me go call Garnet.”

She rose swiftly, picking her phone up off the ground. The screen was cracked from dropping it earlier, but it was still functional. Though, that wasn’t worth much. Everytime she punched in the familiar numbers, she’d get nothing but voicemail.

“Pick up your fucking phone!” She all but screamed.

She paced frantically, trying again and again with the same results. Peridot just kept getting worse and they were out of time. How could they be _this_ busy? How could they not even spare _one_ person to come and get her out?

She had her entire life ahead of her! She could accomplish great things and buy more video games and see the series finale of her stupid show. She still had so much life to live.

The unfairness of the situation twisted in Jasper’s chest and she let out a frustrated growl. Her fist slammed into Lapis’ car with enough force to make the frame shudder and creak. Her hand stayed up, fingers splaying over the roof in search of something solid to hold onto. She couldn’t lose her shit. Not right now.

_“I don’t want to die alone! I’ve spent my entire life alone!”_

The words washed through her head, stinging like acid.

Finally, she turned and walked slowly back to the car. Lapis was staring at her with wide frightened eyes. Her lip quivered slightly as she spoke. “Jasper, what are we gonna do? There has to be something we can do, right?”

Jasper pulled off her gloves with shaky hands, keeping her breath deep and even. Peridot’s face was the color of ashes as she looked up at her, eyes blinking slowly. Jasper kneeled down beside her, taking off the oxygen mask.

“Jasper? W-we have a plan right?” Lapis asked, her voice falling to little more than a whisper.

Jasper reached over Peridot, grasping Lapis’ hand. She squeezed gently as Peri slowly pulled her glasses off of her face, tucking them neatly into the collar of her shirt. A shaky breath left her and she leaned back, staring into Jasper’s eyes.

“I’m dying now, aren’t I?” She asked, voice wavering. She blinked away a few tears, hands turning into fists for a moment. “It’s… it’s happening now, right?”

“Yeah. You’re dying Peri.” Jasper said softly, pulling out the IV and rubbing the irritated area gently. She ran gentle fingers through Peridot’s hair, willing her voice not to shake. “But I don’t want you to worry, okay? I don’t want you to be afraid.”

She pulled Lapis’ hand down to tangle it with one of Peridot’s, holding both girl’s hands with one of hers. “Lapis and I are going to be right here with you the whole time.”

Lapis nodded erratically, giving Peridot’s hand a soft squeeze and leaning forward to plant a gentle kiss on the small woman’s cheek.  “W-We’re not going anywhere.”

“You’re not alone, Peridot.”

Peridot nodded, muscles relaxing as she looked back and forth between them. A watery smile pulled at her lips. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

Instead of a reply, Jasper leaned down to press her own kiss to Peri’s face.

Her lips were starting to turn blue again, though much faster than last time. “W-Will you tell my mom that I died brave. Even if I start crying and freaking out in a minute, tell her I was brave.”

“Peri, you _are_ really brave. It wouldn’t be a lie.” Jasper said, giving her a crooked smile. If it were her in Peri’s position, she’d probably be sobbing.

“Thank you. Can you tell her to fuck off too? And that she’s shit at cooking.”

Lapis snorted, giving Peri a soft smirk. “I’ll take that one. I’ll even add a ‘kiss my ass’ for good measure.”

That drew a tired laugh from Peridot, even as her eyes began to flutter closed. “Thank you. I’m glad I got to meet both of you.”

Jasper stroked a thumb over the hand that was going more and more limp, biting her tongue hard as tears tried to fight their way out of her eyes. A couple made it, but most were pushed back.

The blue haired woman stared quietly at Peri’s face, her free hand running up and down her arm in soothing strokes. Even as tears ran down her face, making wet streaks through the blood and dirt.

Jasper watched in silence, giving both hands in hers soft squeezes to let them know she was still there.

It was only when Peridot’s breathing began stuttering to a stop, that the deep thrum of a helicopter propeller started filling the air. A sharp bolt of adrenaline seared her chest as she looked up to find it heading their way. The stark white paint shone in the dim city lights, interrupted only by the red cross emblazoned on the side.

_There was still time._


	2. Chapter 2

It was dark when Peridot opened her eyes. Even basic shapes were blurry and unrecognizable. She considered finding her glasses and looking at her clock, but the alarm hadn’t went off yet, so she should be safe to go back to sleep.

She rolled over to get comfortable in the cool sheets, but a numb tugging in her wrist, followed by a crash and shrill beeping made her jolt.

An awkward noise between a snort and a growl behind her caught her attention, and she looked over to see one of the blurry shapes bolt upwards.

“Oh god oh god oh god-” A deep, rasping voice muttered as it advanced.

Peridot gave a terrified shriek curling up in her covers. Her heart kicked into overdrive. Who was that? What was going on? The world felt like it was spinning and her stomach gave a lurch in response.

“Peri?” The voice asked, nearly drowned out by the obnoxious beeping.

“W-Wha-?” She started, but a large hand cupped the side of her face and cool metal slid behind her ears. 

Suddenly, she could see.

The room was a sterile white, muted by the low lighting. (At least, that’s what she assumed. Everything was tinted green through her glasses.) Cabinets and machine’s line the walls, only making room for her bed and a small couch in the corner.

A dark face loomed in front of her, striped with vitiligo and surrounded by the messiest platinum mane she’d ever seen. Golden eyes were dripping with drowsy concern.

“Jasper?” She asked, the name coming to her mind after a moment of thought. “What’s going on?”

A bright, toothy smile lit the woman’s face and she let out a short squeal of glee that shouldn’t have come from someone so intimidating. Her large hands darted under Peridot’s arms and she was suddenly in the air.

“J-Jasper!” She shrieked, eyes wide as she flailed.

“Holy shit,  _ Peri _ !” Jasper babbled, spinning around and giggling, “I am so glad you’re awake! I was  _ so _ scared you wouldn’t make it, but you’re  _ awake. _ I can’t fucking believe it!”

She stopped for a moment, looking up at Peri with eyes that made the blood rush to her face. Jasper frowned after a moment, setting her gently on the bed. She cleared her throat, vivid pink splotches staining her cheeks. “Sorry, I got a little carried away.”

Peridot was a little disoriented and dizzy, but otherwise unharmed. “It’s fine. But what...”

Her mind strained to remember why she was here and how she knew Jasper. The awful screeching of her disconnected heart monitor didn’t make that an easy task. After a moment, the memories came back. They trickled in, slow and blurry at first, but advanced quickly into a tidal wave that left her shocked.

Why  _ was _ she here!? She… she should be dead! She’d been bleeding out in a demolished car. She’d said her goodbyes and watched as her two new friends (admittedly, friends that she had kissed) cry over her before everything went black.

“How am I even alive?” She finally asked, looking up at Jasper.

“Garnet came back!” Jasper said, “I didn’t even know she had a pilot’s licence, but she brought a helicopter and  _ her parents _ of all people! One of her mom’s works at this hospital!”

Peridot let out a small laugh before another detail caught her eye.

“WHERE ARE MY FUCKING LEGS!?” She shrieked, peering down at them. Or, what was left of them. Her hospital gown had inched up to reveal two bandages covering where her knees would have been.

Jasper deflated immediately, a sullen, guilty look twisting her face. “They, um-”

“Somebody stop her!” A voice called from the hall.

“Ma’am please-!”

“Get wrecked motherfuckers!” 

Peridot and Jasper looked at each other, only for their eyes to be drawn back to the open door as a security guard was tackled to the floor by a blue and white blur. Like, lightning, the blur had risen and launched itself through the door and over the six feet that it took to get to the bad, landing at the foot of it.

Peridot jolted when she found watery grey eyes staring at her, accompanied by a wide, radiant smile.

“Peri!”

“Lapis!?” Jasper and Peridot chorused, voices high with shock and mild terror.

Lapis wrapped her wiry arms around Peridot’s shoulder’s, giggling uncontrollably. “Holy shit, you’re awake!”

“Ma’am!” The security guard called, running in after finally picking himself up off the floor.

“She can stay.” A cool voice spoke up.

The guard turned to reveal a short woman in blue scrubs and a lab coat looking down at a clipboard. She walked past him and into the room, pressing a button on the heart monitor that turned off the maddening alarm without looking up once. Peridot noticed that both Jasper and Lapis beamed smiles at her when she arrived.

“Ms. Lazuli, Ms. Diamond is still not in great condition. I suggest you handle her with care at the moment.”

“Oh, uh… sorry.” She muttered, getting off the bed and hobbling over to stand next to an even guiltier Jasper. A hospital gown that matched her own swayed with her hips and a cast trapped one of her legs, but she didn’t even seem to acknowledge it. Peridot briefly wondered how the hell she had escaped all the guards ( _ tackling _ one) with it on.

“Ms. Diamond, how are you feeling?” The doctor asked. Peridot could hardly see her blue eyes through the curtain of white hair that hung over them.

“I-I’m reasonably fine. I mean, I thought I died and my legs are missing, but I’m surprisingly not in any pain.” Peridot told her, eyebrows knit together. She was still confused, but it helped to talk about the facts of the situation. It kept her grounded, even though it felt like her head was stuffed with cotton balls.

“Ah, yes. The painkillers are working fine then.” She sighed, lowering the clipboard and giving Peridot a slight smile. “I have to admit, I didn’t know if we could save you when we got there. It’s amazing that you pulled through.”

“You were there?”

“That’s Garnet’s mom.” Jasper spoke up, “She came in the helicopter.”

Peridot nodded slowly, glancing down at her hand before offering it to the doctor. “Then I owe you a lot. Thank you doctor…?”

“Sapphire Helia.” She said. Her hand was cool to the touch when she shook Peridot’s, but her grip was comforting. 

Her smile fell after a moment and she let the clipboard hang at her side. “I regret to inform you that we couldn’t save your legs, however. While the tourniquets administered at the scene saved your life, they ruined any chances of keeping your legs. We had to amputate them shortly after getting you into the OR.”

Peridot stayed frozen for a moment, staring at the doctor. Her brain sped into overdrive at all of possibilities and all of the changes and hardship she would face without them. Her legs were  _ gone _ . She’d have to relearn how to walk, how to do most things really.

Panic rose in her chest, but she pressed it down like clothes in a suitcase, locking it shut until she was mentally stable enough to deal with it.

Hell, she was  _ alive _ . That was one thing. There was another thing, but even thinking it made her shoulders begin to shake.

“Peri?” She heard Lapis murmur, voice tight with concern.

Peridot put a hand up to her face, trying to smother the noises. Finally, she threw her head back and let out a loud laugh that was only a  _ tiny bit _ hysteric.

“Holy shit, I’m going to ace my finals!”

Both Jasper and Lapis squinted at her in wonder as she cackled.Sapphire simply stared, unmoving.

“Peri, uh…” Jasper said slowly, looking around at the others to see if they had any idea what was going on. “I’m glad that you’re happy, but what the hell does this have to do with your finals?”

“I major in robotics!” Peridot giggled. “More specifically, myoelectric prosthetics. The final project is to design and build a working prosthetic.”

After a moment, Lapis’ snorts began to join Peridots. Jasper followed shortly, her loud guffaws filling the room. Even the doctor had to cover her mouth to stifle a few chuckles.

“What kind of fucking luck is that!” Lapis gasped, collapsing onto the bed and gripping her stomach.

“I’m gonna leave you guys alone for now.” Dr. Helia spoke up, grinning. “Make sure you let me know if you need anything.” 

With that, she left the trio of laughing women to their own devices. After a while, the laughter slowly drew to a close. Peridot ran her hands through her hair, content to bask in the good feelings for as long as she could.

She scooted back to lean against her pillows, watching as Jasper took a seat next to Lapis on the bed and finally tried to smooth out her fucked up bed head.

“What are you doing here anyways? How long have I been out?”

The pink returned to Jasper’s face and she scratched the back of her head. “Uh, a few  days.”

Peridot thought for a moment. “How long have you been here?”

Jasper muttered something that Peridot didn’t catch, but a wide grin split Lapis’ face. “She’s been here as long as we have.”

“Lapis-” Jasper groaned, hiding her face with a hand. It was strange to see someone so big act bashful. Peridot couldn’t deny that it was mind numbingly cute.

“It’s true!” Lapis cut her off. Her eyes softened as she looked at the EMT. “She’s been keeping me company. She even brought me ice cream! That didn’t stop her from visiting you though.”

Peridot’s eyes widened a bit, starting to feel a bit hot in the face.

“Well, I mean, I- I just-” Jasper sputtered, looking between the two. She finally cracked a small smile and murmured, “I just wanted to make sure you two were alright. And it’s not like I was alone. Lapis came too!”

“Of course! Security should know by now that they can’t stop me.” She laughed.

Peridot smiled, a warm feeling spreading through her chest. Before she could overthink it, she leaned forward until she was close enough to reach Jasper’s face, pulling her down gently to plant a chaste kiss on her lips. When she turned to wide-eyed Lapis, she pulled her in for the same treatment.

“Thank you. Both of you.”

This time, both of them looked away with flushed faces, a couple of chuckles filling the air between them. 

“Well, we were worried…” Jasper said, clearing her throat.

Lapis gave her a sly smirk. “We can’t start a threesome without you. That’s only two people.”

“Lapis!” Jasper tried to be indignant, but it came out as a laugh. “Here!? _ Now!? _ ”

“I can dream, can’t I? I mean, I’m talking to the two cutest-” Her eyes cut to Peridot, “Sorry, the two  _ sexiest _ girls I’ve ever seen.”

Peri felt her face heat further as she pressed a hand to it, groaning. “I was suffering from blood loss when I said that…”

“Doesn’t make it any less true.” She shot a couple of finger guns (Complete with the ‘click click’ sounds) and a wink at them.

Peridot looked at them,  _ really  _ looked. Neither of them had to be there. It was different than most of what she had experienced. Usually people only tolerated her company when it was necessary. Even her mother only talked to her as a responsibility.

That reminded her…

“Is my phone here?” She asked them, bolstering every shred of courage in her body.

Jasper looked over to the bedside table, leaning over and handing the small cell phone to her. The screen was cracked and fractured to the point where she could hardly see what she was doing, but (luckily) it still functioned enough to make a phone call. Good thing too. She didn’t know if this swell of bravery would last once the painkillers were out of her system. 

Peridot typed in a familiar set of numbers and held it to her ear. After a few rings, someone finally picked up.

“So you finally decided to call?” Her mother asked, foregoing a ‘hello’ or a ‘how are you doing after nearly dying?’.

Usually the voice would make her cringe or leave an empty feeling in her stomach. This time she only smiled. She felt better than ever.

She considered telling her all that had happened. Nearly dying, losing her legs, meeting the two women on her bed. But, she doubted that her mother would care. Peridot was done caring too.

“Hello, mother. Fuck off.” She said simply.

Jasper and Lapis’ eyes widened, both looking at her in open mouth shock.

“ _ Excuse me!? Young lady- _ ”

“Also, you’re cooking sucks,” She shot a glance at Lapis. “And you’re lame and throw shitty parties. Kiss my ass, you clod.”

With that, she hung up. Her eyes stayed glued to her phone for a moment, trying not to think about what she’d just done.

“Damn.” Lapis drawled, eyes bright. “You fucking  _ told her ass _ !”

“Will one of you take this.” She mumbled, holding her phone out.

Jasper took it gingerly, eyebrows knit together. “Why?”

The screen lit up and she nearly dropped it, holding it an arms length away from her. A small jingle floated out of the damaged speakers, crackling ominously.

Peridot ignored it, falling over one her side and curling into a ball. It felt weird not having the lower half of her legs, but hey, she could make a smaller ball.

“W-what do I do with it?” Jasper asked, looking at the phone as if it were a ticking time bomb.

“Destroy it.”

“No, really-”

“I’m serious.” Peridot said quickly, eyes wide. “Destroy it. I’m getting a new one with a new number and better apps. I don’t care what you do as long as it breaks.”

Lapis nodded solemnly and plucked it from Jasper’s hands. Without a second thought, she threw it on the ground violently before bringing her abused cast down on it a couple of times.

Peridot felt a heavy weight lift off her shoulders and she sighed, a smile coming to her face. “I just told Mother to fuck off!”

“You told her  _ a lot _ of things, Peri.” Lapis chuckled.

Peridot sighed again, tears prickling at her eyes. “I told Mother to fuck off.”

“Are you… gonna be okay?” Jasper asked hesitantly.

Peridot let out a laugh, struggling to get herself upright. “No!”

“I’m sure it’s gonna be fine, Peri.” Lapis said, giving her a reassuring smile.

“You don’t understand!” She nearly shrieked. “She’s been hovering over me my whole life, forcing me to do this or that. ‘Peridot, you need to keep our grades up or you’ll never be successful’, ‘Peridot I’m doing this for your own good’, ‘Peridot, you’ll never get married if you never leave your apartment’, ‘Peridot, it’s inappropriate to drink an entire bottle of vodka on Christmas’!”

“Actually-” Jasper started, looking concerned. Lapis stopped her, shaking her head quickly.

“And now I’ve burned that bridge!”

“Peri,” Lapis said, patting her shoulder. “You stuck tens tons of C4 to that bridge and took out everything in a 5 mile radius.”

“Exactly!” Peridot giggled. “Now I just have to join the witness protection service before she finds me,  _ destroys my entire existence, and crushes everything I love! _ ”

“Okay, let’s calm down for a second.” Jasper said softly, rubbing a hand up and down Peridot’s back. It was a lot more soothing than she’d like to admit.

She took a deep breath, thankful again for the amount of painkillers in her system, even if they did make her head a little fuzzy. “Okay.”

Jasper smiled, her muscles relaxing.

Peridot took another deep breath, looking between the two of them. She was on a roll today. She should quit while she was still ahead. But...

“Do you want to get coffee sometime?”

Peridot’s heart fluttered at the wide smiles directed at her. 

“Well, I don’t see why not.” Jasper chuckled.

“Of course!” Lapis giggled. “If you didn’t ask, I would have.”

Her heart stopped fluttering and damn near exploded in her chest. She let out a gust of breath she didn’t know she was holding, collapsing back into her pillows and closing her eyes.

Despite everything that had happened and everything she had yet to face, she felt happiness squirm its way inside her and make a home there. Everything was going to be alright, even if it would be hard.

And, now that she wasn’t dead, she had all the time in the world.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning for alcohol and marijuana use.

Lapis took one last look at her painting. Her tongue stuck out of the corner of her mouth as her critical gaze scrutinized every inch of it. It was perfect. For now, at least.

It wasn’t really… of anything. It was about the mood more than anything. Different shades of yellow, orange, and red blended together in a warm mess of… something. In Lapis’ opinion, it was the best thing she’d ever painted.

Pleasurable tingles ran up and down her arms as she squinted through the smoke in the garage. Finally her eyes landed on the woman who looked like she was about to melt into her purple beanbag chair.

“Thanks for letting me use your paint, Vidalia. This shit costs an arm and a leg.”

Vidalia waved a hand in her general direction, “No problem. Anything to help out an aspiring artist.” Her voice was slow and thick and Lapis let out a giggle.

Vidalia was one of her best friends, not to mention her role model. She took care of two kids and still had time to paint some of the most beautiful pictures Lapis had laid eyes on. Admittedly, almost all of them were of one of her roommates (Which weirded her out at first, but she’d learned that an artist had to take inspiration wherever they could get it), but Vidalia somehow managed to make each one new and exciting.

Now, she just had the problem of carrying the canvas to her next destination. Not only was the canvas a bit awkward to carry with both hands, but she had to use at least one arm for her crutch. Dr.Helia had nearly ripped her a new one when she had learned that she hadn’t been using it, and she didn’t plan on aggravating her further. For someone so small, she could be intimidating as all hell.

Her mouth drew up into a lazy smile at the thought of another very small, very angry person, but she shook her head quickly. She was losing her train of thought.

“Hey, do you have a piece of string or something?” She asked, hobbling over to the human-beanbag fusion.

Vidalia opened her bloodshot eyes slowly and managed to pry herself out of the beanbag, ambling over to another part of her garage/art studio. After rummaging through a box, she came back with a long length of string. “This good?”

“It’s perfect.” Lapis hummed, taking it and tying it to the canvas.

Vidalia grinned at the painting, hands on her hips. “It looks great. What’s the occasion?”

“Dull, grey walls.” Lapis said vaguely. Vidalia gave her a sage nod, making her way back to her throne. Another thing she liked about Vidalia was that she never pried. She took Lapis’ answers and never asked for more, trusting that Lapis would say what she wanted when she was ready.

And any other day, she would elaborate, but she had to get moving. She slung the painting across her back, tying the string at her chest, and jammed the crutch under her arm. “I gotta run, but let me know when you want to hang out again.”

After she received a thumbs up and a quiet “Be safe”, she turned and parted the curtains. A cloud of smoke followed her out into cool air of the afternoon and she took a moment to watch it float by.

She was lucky that the weather was so mild here. Lapis had sworn off pants after moving to the beachside town, wearing skirts and sundresses ever since she started college. She didn’t quite remember why, but that didn’t stop her. Lapis Lazuli was no quitter.

With a skip in her step (that looked more like a form of interpretive dance, with her limp) she started towards Jasper’s house. The wind raked chilly fingers through her hair as she walked, giving her another wave of pleasant feelings.

As she got on the bus, ignoring the odd looks at her painting, she let an easy smile pull at her lips. In another time, her face would be set in a permanent scowl. But that was in the past. 

It had taken a long time, but she’d slowly worked her way out of the pit she’d found herself in. More often than not, she’d been able to keep her mind from sinking into the dark, violent waters that pulled her under and made it difficult to get out of bed in the mornings. It was still hard sometimes. Well, a lot of the time, but now she could see a future for herself. A few years ago, everything had seemed so distant and dark.

She got off at her stop and walked to Jasper’s house, lost in her own thoughts. She didn’t notice that she had arrived until she stood outside the door. She blinked a couple of times, squinting at her phone. It would still be at least twenty minutes before Jasper got home. It seemed that, in her excitement to be on time (for once), she’d made it early.

She shrugged. Lapis was never one to shy away from breaking and entering.

The plan had been for all three of them to meet up here when Jasper got off work. They had an assortment of movies to watch (Peridot had never seen The Princess Bride and Lapis was going to fix that as soon as possible). 

At first she had been worried that they’d have nothing in common outside of a life or death situation, but her worries had been whisked away when all three of them showed up an hour late to their first date.They’d had a few dates since Peridot was released from the hospital, so this wasn’t new, but Lapis couldn’t fend off the excitement of seeing them again.

She just hoped that Jasper had something to eat. The munchies hit her hard as she jiggled the latch on the bathroom window. She tossed the painting and crutch in first, following after them quickly. After she made sure it was latched securely behind her, her first stop was the livingroom. 

She scowled at the dull, grey walls.

Jasper’s house was almost devoid of life. Her furniture and decorations were sparse and minimalistic. Lapis held up the painting, trying to figure out where it would look best before realising that she didn’t have the tools to hang it up. Oh well, she’d have to wait until Jasper came home. There were more pressing matters anyways…

She quickly made her way to the kitchen, salivating at the thought of something to eat. She tore open the cupboard to find… nothing. Well, close to nothing. There were cans of vegetables and some spaghetti. Lapis was craving something crunchy, but she wasn’t ready to resort to uncooked pasta. Yet.

She closed it with a huff, ready to try another cupboard, but her eyes caught a box on top of the fridge. She hobbled over excitedly, pulling it down and looking it over. Her nose wrinkled, “Sugar free protein flakes? What the fuck?”

“Lapis?”

Lapis let out a short shriek, whirling around. Her heart hammered, bloodshot eyes wide until they landed on a small form sitting down on the floor near the sink. She let out an explosive breath, clutching her chest. “Jesus Peri, you scared the fuck out of me!”

Lapis squinted at her, eyebrows knit together. The short woman was leaning against the the silverware drawers in nothing but a pair of boxers and an oversized shirt, her glasses tucked neatly into the collar. Her legs stretched out in front of her, the creamy skin of her thighs fitting flawlessly into her sleek, black and green prosthetics. Lapis’ eyes widened at the sight, but widened further at the red rimmed eyes and half empty bottle of vodka next to her.

“You doing alright, Peri?”

That was apparently the wrong thing to say, because the baby blue eyes filled with a fresh wave of tears

“Laaaapiiiiissss!” She wailed, “I don’t have any leeeeegs!”

Lapis blinked and tilted her head, limping over to sit down next to her. This was quite the delayed reaction. “Um, they’ve been gone for a while...” She said, unsure.

“I know.” She sniffled, her torso listing to the side for a moment. “You think they’re always gonna be there for you, then BAM! No legs!”

Lapis reached out to rub her back when a hiccup jolted her. She wasn’t quite sure what to say. She had never lost a limb, she couldn’t begin to understand how that felt.

The tears in Peridot’s eyes overflowed and she let out a ragged sob, hissing and pressing a hand to her ribs. Those were taking a bit longer to heal. Lapis’ hand fluttered around her frantically, unsure of what to do. She was never good with people crying. There was no way to just  _ fix _ the problem. 

Petting her roommate’s cat or curling up in a big blanket always calmed her down. But she didn’t want to invade Jasper’s privacy by going into her room, and her cat was scarce and very temperamental.

Lapis gasped as an idea struck her. She flopped over, placing her head in Peridot’s lap. Peridot looked down at her curiously, letting out a few more sniffles. Lapis pulled her hand up and set it on her head. “Pet me.”

Peri’s eyes narrowed, eyebrows knitting together, “...What?”

“Just trust me.”

Hesitantly, Peridot’s hand began to make it’s way through her bright blue hair. Lapis pulled the box of disappointment flakes closer and shoved some into her mouth.

“I didn’t even care about them until now.” Peridot muttered, “I didn’t care about walking or moving, and now everything seems so hard.” She reached over to pick up the bottle with her free hand. 

Lapis looked down at the prosthetics. Peridot had designed them before she even left the hospital and started making them her first night out. She’d forgone trying to make them realistic (as she explained in a manic, sleep deprived rant) and instead focused on efficiency. They were flat and circular on the bottom, tapering as they went up with some joints where her knees would be.

She scraped the logic to the front of her foggy mind, ignoring the lovely hand in her hair as much as she could. “Won’t they be awes-  _ efficient _ when you get used to moving with them? Robots are stronger than humans, right? You’ll be like Robo-cop. But like, cooler.”

“What’s Robo-cop?”

“We’re so adding that to the movie list.”

Peridot sighed and leaned back against the drawers, silent. Lapis tried to worry, but the hand in her hair made tingles go up and down her spine. Especially when Peridot’s nails grazed gently over her scalp. She wished, not for the first time in her life, that she was a cat. People would pet her all day and tolerate her mood swings and laugh when she knocked things off of tables.

“Even after I get used to them,” Peridot murmured, jolting Lapis out of her sleepy trance. “People will still look at me like I’m a freak. I should’ve made them look normal.”

“I think they look pretty rad.” She trailed a finger up a green stripe on the side. “Green and black are good on you. Fuck what people think anyways. When people look at you like that, you learn to ignore it. It gets easier after a while.”

The tight line of Peridot’s mouth wavered and Lapis wondered if she had said the wrong thing, but it widened into a soft smile. “You’re right! I didn’t care about what people thought before, why should I start now?” 

She leaned down to bury her face in Lapis’ hair. “How’d you get so wise Lapis? And why is your hair so soft?”

“Life and organic shampoo.” 

Lapis shoved a hand in the cereal box, ready for another wave of disappointment, but the chime of her phone made her pause. She reached into her shirt to grab it and her heart did a pathetic flutter when she saw that it was a text from Jasper. Lapis sighed. She was an adult. She shouldn’t swoon at getting a text from one of her girlfriends.

It was in the group chat they had made when texting each other separately became a hassle: 

**RockHardAbs**

[off work. either of you need a ride? what snacks should i get?]

**Lapissed**

[we already in ur house ;) ]

[bring chips] 

[and better cereal] 

[and some gatorade]

[the blue one]

She nudged Peridot’s head with her own blinking slowly up at her. “Snacks?”

“Um…” She chewed her lip for a second, swaying a bit as she sat up. “Mountain dew. Oh! And ice cream! That one with the nuts.”

“Rocky road?”

“No,no. The other nuts.”

Lapis’ eyebrows knit together in confusion and she just  _ barely _ stopping herself from making a dirty joke. “Butter Pecan?”

“Yessssss.” Peridot hissed, giggling.

Lapis nodded and looked back at her phone.

**RockHardAbs**

[what]

[how’d you get in?]

[did you break any windows???]

**Lapissed**

[peri wants mountain dew and butter pecan ice cream]

[nothing is broken but the latch on your bathroom window sucks]

“How’d you get in Peri?” Lapis asked. Jasper’s question had made her curious too.

“Elementary, my dear Watson.” She said, holding up a finger. “Jasper’s very responsible, so she must’ve had a spare key. BUT!” She paused for effect. “She’s not very secretive. It was under the welcome mat.”

Lapis snorted, grinning. “Nerd.”

**Lapissed**

[peri turned into an british detective and found your key]

[she called me watson and everything]

The prosthetic caught her eye again, and she felt a strange, persistent urge. Lapis stuck out her tongue and dragged it across the metal. It tasted metallic. She didn’t know what she was expecting.

“Did you just-”

“Yeah.”

“...Why?”

‘I’m higher than a kite and needed to know what it tasted like’ didn’t seem like an appropriate answer. So, she shrugged and said, “Someone had to do it.”

Peridot nodded solemnly, taking another swig of her vodka.

She resumed petting her and Lapis fell silent, shoving more cereal into her mouth and basking in the affection.

It took twenty minutes and half of the abomination cereal before Jasper burst through the door. “Peridot? Lapis?”

“Kitchen.” Lapis called, shoving another handful into her mouth.

Jasper walked through the doorway and Lapis swore that a beam of light followed her. It shone on her glistening muscles, her glossy hair, and -most of all- on the bag of snacks she held in her hand.

Lapis wanted to cheer and skip over, but her body felt like melted butter in Peridot’s lap. The most she could muster was a vaguely excited chortle.

“Lapis uses organic shampoo.” Peridot announced, leaning down to rub her face in Lapis’ hair. In an effort to inspire more petting, Lapis did her best to channel her inner cat and purred, choked on a mouthful of cereal, and stopped.

“Are you drunk?” Jasper asked.

Peridot only giggled into Lapis’ hair.

“Very.” Lapis answered for her. “For the record, she broke in first.”

“Where are your pants?” She tried. Both could only answer with shrugs.

Jasper put down the bag of snacks to come over, crouching next to them. She poked Lapis gently in the shoulder with a large finger. “I can’t pick her up unless you move.”

“I can’t. The universe has embraced me. This floor will be my home. This floor will be my tomb.”

Jasper squinted. “Are you high?”

“Very.”

Jasper gave a long suffering sigh (Lapis didn’t think she had been suffering for that long) before she picked both of them up like pillows.

A girlfriend under each arm, she strode into the living room. Lapis gave a faint wiggle before becoming increasingly distracted by the muscular forearm beneath her. Soon, they were deposited on the couch. Peridot curled into a little ball, but Lapis slumped limply over one of the arms.

“Stay here, I’ll be right back.”

“Don’t forget the snacks!” Lapis wailed, receiving a grunt in response.

Jasper came back with full arms. She draped blankets over them and set down the snacks. Finally, she held up Lapis’ painting, looking at it for a moment before her gaze shot to Lapis.

“Did you paint this?”

Lapis nodded, looking at it again. She winced. The perfection of her paintings always seemed to deteriorate with time. She could pick out all of the small flaws and mistakes. A habit of sticking them in her closet or giving them away had formed shortly after enrolling.

Jasper smiled wide, a hint of pink spreading over her cheekbones. “Thank you!”

Lapis felt her face burn and she pulled a blanket up over her head. “No prob, Bob.”

Jasper disappeared for a moment, coming back with a toolbox. She opened it up, taking out a hammer and some nails.

“What are you doing?” Lapis asked, peeking out of her blankets.

“Hanging it up.” Jasper pounded a couple of nails into the wall. Peridot jolted with half of a snore, looking around in confusion.

“What’s happening?” She slurred, uncurling.

“Lapis made me art!” Jasper said, grinning from ear to ear.

Peridot gasped struggling to stand. It didn’t work out very well but, after a bit of flailing, she finally stood and made her way over to where Jasper was hanging the picture. Lapis groaned, burrowing back into the blankets. It was like the adult version of getting her drawing hung up on the fridge. 

It was one thing to break into someone's house and hang shitty art on their walls. It was an entirely different thing when they did it themselves and openly admired it. Sure, it left a warm feeling in her chest, but it was more embarrassing than the time threw up in someone's swimming pool.

“Lapis! It looks great!” Peridot yowled, waving her arms and doing an odd shuffle.

Jasper picked her up again, setting her on the couch. “It does. It really livens up the place.”

“Can we just watch some movies?” Lapis groaned, wondering how far she could shrink into her blankets before she wound up in Narnia. 

A thick arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her into Jasper’s side. The heat in her cheeks didn’t last long against the heat radiating off of Jasper in waves. She gave up trying to melt into the covers to flop across Jasper’s lap. And Peridot’s, by collateral damage.

“What are we starting with?” Jasper asked, opening Netflix on her TV.

Peridot gasped, grinning. “Robocop!”

Lapis snorted, “I’m with Peri on that one.”

“Robocop it is.” Jasper muttered, turning the TV to Netflix.

As the movie began to play, Lapis let out a soft sigh. Peridot was back to petting her and she had better things to cram into her mouth than sugar free monstrosity. She had even managed to convince Jasper to feed her the chips, even though her striped nose wrinkled at the sight of them.

In another time, the feeling of content wouldn’t wash over her. The knots of anxiety wouldn’t have unrolled from her stomach and she wouldn’t have appreciated the sounds of laughter, or the way the light streamed steadily through the window, or the way that everything was so overwhelmingly  _ okay _ .

But that was another time. 

In the here and now, Lapis couldn’t help but feel like everything was perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written anything for a long time, and this is my first fic for Steven Universe! Also, I am not a medical professional, so if you see anything wrong, please let me know! Thank you.


End file.
